There are times when the trust we put in the authorities is misplaced. At the very least, this is the case with municipal water in many states and countries. It’s not uncommon to hear stories about how high levels of lead, chemicals, and dangerous contaminants have made their way into our tap water, and even worse are the stories of the victims consuming this water. Now that we know that it’s possible for our tap water to contain dangerous contaminants, it’s up to us to protect ourselves and our loved ones against their detrimental effects. Here’s how you can make your water safe for your family and yourself.
Sources of Water Contamination
Sadly enough, there are various sources of pollution through which municipal water can get contaminated. Starting from natural pollutants and fertilizers making their way to municipal water lines to chemicals leaked from industrial zones to improper disposal of wastes, tap water can contain an alarming amount of contaminants. Even if the water reaching the household is tested and well-regulated, the condition of the household can contaminate the water. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), more than 18 million Americans use tap water that’s high in lead content, all due to the aging pipes and fitting of the water infrastructure. The issue with the presence of these contaminants extend beyond displeasure when ingesting water of foul taste or smell; many serious diseases are associated with elevated levels of contaminants. Even clear water can be home to deadly pathogens, so you really can’t trust the look or feel of tap water.
How to Protect Your Family From Contaminated Water
Now that you realize how serious the ramifications of drinking contaminated water can be, it’s imperative to take effective steps in protecting your family. Here are a few ways through which you can do that.
Look for Contamination Signs
The most obvious advice is to look for contamination signs. Although it is, indeed, obvious, it’s alarming how often it is that people decide to ignore these signs. If your tap water is murky or turbid, smells weird (even if not foul), has a strange taste, or leaves a white residue on utensils after drying, it’s probably time to test your water. In fact, you should probably test your water, even if there are no clear contamination signs.
Test Your Water
We’ve already established that you can’t blindly trust the quality of the water being delivered to you. Even in well-established states like Arizona with advanced oxidation processes, water treatment facilities fail to detect abnormally high levels of hydrogen peroxide, a caustic substance, delivering contaminated water to thousands of residents. That’s why the experts at wholehousewaterfiltrationsystem.com/locations/arizona/tucson/ recommend scheduling a free water assessment with a professional agency to identify whatever contaminants the authorities might have missed. These certified laboratories will test your tap water, give you a full report of its ingredients, and advise you on the needed action to ensure clean drinking water.
Install Water Filters
Whether there’s a significant amount of contaminants in your tap water or not, installing a water filter is the safest option. If so, you might be wondering why you’d need to go through the hassle of testing the water in the first place. Actually, the kind of filter you install will depend on the water report you get. There are many kinds of filters, each better suited to filter certain chemicals, minerals, and contaminants. Moreover, depending on the report, you may realize that it’s more efficient to install a whole house filtration system or decide that on-point use filters are more practical. Whatever you choose, you’ll definitely need a water filter.
Checkup and Maintenance
Alongside the efforts you make in purifying the tap water, you can’t neglect the maintenance of your pipes and infrastructure. As we’ve previously mentioned, the possibility of lead, iron, copper, and other metals leaking into your drinking water from your pipes increases exponentially with aging infrastructures. It’s safe to assume that all homes built before the 1980s will contain lead. In case you suspect your pipes contain lead but are unable to change them for whatever reason, the CDC recommends running cold water through your pipes for at least 2 minutes before you use the water.
Appearances can be deceiving, but you can never afford to let yourself be deceived when it comes to the safety of your family. Such is the case with municipal water where, more often than not, a lot of invisible contaminants tend to lurk. Thankfully, there’s a lot that you can do to protect your family from these dangers, from looking for contamination signs to testing the water, installing filters, and regularly maintaining your water system.